Literary notes about began (AI summary)
The word “began” functions as a versatile narrative pivot in literature, used to signal the onset of actions, emotions, or events. In many examples, it marks a turning point—from a character’s internal change, as when Leonela “began to weep bitterly” ([1]), to the external shift of events, like when “the bidding began” ([2]) or when a battle “began” with an explosion of clashing arms ([3]). It is also frequently employed to introduce dialogue or reflective thoughts, as seen in lines such as “I say,” he began ([4]) or moments when characters “began to reflect” ([5]). Whether indicating the initiation of a process—“the rigour of the winter began to abate” ([6])—or capturing a gradual transformation like “sorrow began to flow plentifully” ([7]), “began” serves a critical role in structuring the narrative’s flow and marking the precise moment when something new comes into being.
- At this moment Camilla, throwing herself upon a bed that was close by, swooned away, and Leonela began to weep bitterly, exclaiming, “Woe is me!
— from The History of Don Quixote, Volume 1, Complete by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra - A place was cleared, and the bidding began.
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - For, when the spear-throwing began, the intolerable clash of arms filled the air with an incredible thunder.
— from The Danish History, Books I-IX by Grammaticus Saxo - “I say,” he began to Ivan, “excuse me, I only mention it to remind you.
— from The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - He sat down without saying a word to anybody, and began to reflect.
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - The rigour of the winter began to abate.
— from Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie - While Damayanti was saying all this, tears of sorrow began to flow plentifully from her eyes.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1
